Artist: Watchmaker
Label: Willowtip
Release Date: 10/14/03
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Title: Kill.Fucking.Everyone. Artist: Watchmaker Label: Willowtip Release Date: 10/14/03 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Go to Reader Reviews | ||
Abyss's Review:
This album is just plain caustic and ugly right from the start and remains so clear through the end. The album basically has two speeds, fast and faster (this can be argued, but it’s the lasting impression), and the production is ugly, but not lackadaisical. The music rambles along franticly, but strikes the listener as focused, and shows a knack for their ability to keep the music pummeling along without having to rely on too much groove or simple breakdowns to keep the listener interested.
That being said, I do enjoy the album more in smaller doses, as I find it becoming a little too monotonous when listening to it for over twenty minutes (its total running time is only a half hour). This is very surprising considering the band’s ignoring of the traditional grindcore formula of speed/breakdown/speed/breakdown/new song. If one wanted to nitpick, they could probably argue that there is a lot of traditional grind in this band’s sound, but I think they’d be missing the point. This is extreme metal that isn’t trying to cater to anyone. There isn’t shit thrown in for the hardcore kids, or jazz tangents that are meant to show how well rounded they are. It’s just frantic noise that gets the adrenaline pumping and your floor shaking, causing your downstairs neighbor to look up and say to himself, “What the fuck is that?!”
"It’s just frantic noise that gets the adrenaline pumping and your floor shaking, causing your downstairs neighbor to look up and say to himself, 'What the fuck is that?!' " In the end, I’m not sure why I like this album as much as I do, as I could easily imagine someone listening to it and being utterly bored. However, I’ve enjoyed my time with it a great deal so far, so I recommend it for anyone who craves braying blastbeats and chainsaw guitars. One word review: Cool.
Death's Review:
A geeky name is always made cooler by an album title like Kill.Fucking.Everyone. Watchmaker is a speedy, sloppy, spastic, uber-extreme band of chaos, blastbeats and feedback. Grindcore the way you like it, full of piss and bile, Surely these guys are from Scandinavia, right? Wrong. Try Boston. And still there is not a hint of “melody” or “core” to be found. How could this be, you ask? Thank the good folks at Willowtip. Great packaging and album cover complete the package. The band is actually pretty tight in its low-fi approach, often locking in on the thrashy riffs even though things are obviously kept loose and dirty for aesthetic purposes. A little old-school Slayer can be discerned in a few of the guitar parts, but for the most part speed and hatred rule the day. Like most grindocre, the chaos is a setup for the slower, groovier parts which are the true highlights, such as the killer “Great Misleader.” In the end, Watchmaker are pretty much summed up by the quote that appears on the back cover of the CD insert: “Kill every dog, every cat . . . Kill every mouse, every bird. Kill every fish. Anyone objects, kill them too.” Fast, faster and even faster, Watchmaker will satisfy your quest for total obliteration you can still bang your head to.
"In the end, Watchmaker are pretty much summed up by the quote that appears on the back cover of the CD insert: 'Kill every dog, every cat . . . Kill every mouse, every bird. Kill every fish. Anyone objects, kill them too.' "
Hel's Review:
I dearly love grind, so I was happy when I put Watchmaker into my player and their manic chaos emerged from my speakers. After many listens, I am still tickled by this album, though there are a couple of small shortcomings that I think would have elevated this from merely a really good album to one of the best of the year.My favorite kind of grind is the insanely technical sort, which is able to convey a sense of mind-blowing musicianship within the chaotic delivery. I believe that Watchmaker has these kind of skills, but this album does not drive that point home like I feel it should . As usual, I'll blame the production. In this instance, every song tends to blend together into a morass of sloppy guitar noise. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I like my morass with some depth.
The song structures are good and a tad of refinement could make the songwriting invincible. The vocals are the final weak spot. They are too high-pitched overall for my taste, and I think some lower growls would create a strong dichotomy that would really enhance the songs. But moreover, a tiny bit of enunciation would be nice for those of us who like to try and shriek along.
"For some really good grind that will freak out your neighbors and allow you to release your inner psycho-killer, spend some time with Watchmaker and Kill.Fucking.Everyone." My reason for nitpicking in this case is directly attributable to the fact that Watchmaker has insane potential, and if not for the small details mentioned above, they could have easily made me cough up that fifth skull. There’s a ton of great music on this album, if this is the kind of thing you like.
There’s also a lot of love on this album, as amply illustrated by the title, Kill.Fucking.Everyone. This has occasionally been my personal mantra, and is a sentiment I can relate to. For some really good grind that will freak out your neighbors and allow you to release your inner psycho-killer, spend some time with Watchmaker and Kill.Fucking.Everyone. You’ll feel much better afterward.
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